Connecticut Attorney General Joins Fight Against Military Transgender Ban

Kevin Wolf / Associated Press

George Jepsen

George Jepsen (Kevin Wolf / Associated Press)

Matt Ormseth

Connecticut attorney general George Jepsen filed a brief Monday with 13 other states and the District of Columbia supporting a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s plan to bar transgender people from military service.

The 15 Democratic attorneys general filed an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing they have a vested interest in a lawsuit branding the president’s plan as unconstitutional and counter to national security interests.

The suit, Doe v. Trump, was leveled against the Trump administration by two LGBT advocacy groups after the president announced in a July 26 tweet that the military “will not accept or allow” transgender people to serve. He cited “tremendous medical costs” and “disruption” as reasons for the ban, saying “our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory.”

In the brief, Jepsen and other signees argue the ban would entangle state-run entities, like the National Guard and ROTC programs at public universities. In the latter, states could be forced to discriminate against certain students, the brief contends, violating their constitutional rights.

"Transgender men and women who want to serve should be afforded the same opportunities to do so as any other American, and those who are already serving deserve our respect and our gratitude for their service," Jepsen said in a statement. "I strongly support the rights of transgender people to live free of discrimination, which has no place in our society.”

The plaintiffs, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, are seeking a preliminary injunction against the ban, which caught much of the Pentagon by surprise when it was tweeted out in July.

The ban has yet to materialize, and in September Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told Congress he thought transgender service members should be allowed to stay in the military.

“I believe any individual who meets the physical and mental standards and is worldwide-deployable and currently serving should be afforded the opportunity to continue to serve,” Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee, underscoring the dissonance between the commander in chief’s views and those of the Pentagon.